Beautiful Girls

The Secret to Actually Producing Great Visual Storytelling

It's 2014 and there is no question that visual storytelling is an important tool in every marketer's tool belt. However, how to swiftly produce consistent, cost-effective and beautiful work is a lot less obvious. To arm you with the methods, resources and workflows you need to win at visual storytelling, we've asked marketer and data visualization pioneer Leslie Bradshaw to share her playbook. In her own words the session will deliver: Less hype. More do.

26. THE HEARTBREAK… budget timing just “off” design = weak trust = weak time overplayed coordinating stakeholders externalities lost in translation beat to the punch approvals tactic data = weak no ROI story = weak overly branded producing good work is hard and it doesn’t always work out

65. I LOVE IT WHEN… “… the client knows exactly how the content will be used, and then repurposed.” ! - @supnah content strategist, BitTorrent

66. “…the client fully shares the brand with me. Not just a brand guide, but the raison d’être… it’s a lot more genuine if we're telling the story of the company as well [as the product].” - @olsonchr content strategist I LOVE IT WHEN…

67. “… the client hands over the all the data, and says: ‘we think this is the story, but would like for you to help us refine / find it’.” ! ! - @ripetungi information designer I LOVE IT WHEN…

68. “Good content should deliver on both business needs and user needs. It's easy for clients and agency folks to keep the business needs in mind, but fighting for value for the end user can be difficult at times.” ! - @Kyle_Musgrave content strategist, Havas Worldwide

69. "The hardest parts of a visual storytelling project are all at the beginning, when your focus is on crafting strong content before even beginning the visual work.” ! - @michael_hendrix strategist, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

70. “It's easy to get excited about the data set and to want to share everything you have. But there's a real art in cutting the fluff to reveal the singular message you want to get across.” ! ! - @jennykarn co-founder, Beutler Ink

71. “Sketches are the key to happiness, smooth approvals and sunshine all around. ! One of our designers sketches things by hand with pencil to paper and I love that we have a tangible product on our side to hold on to after a project is completed.” ! - @alixmcalpine creative, BuzzFeed

72. I HATE IT WHEN… “… the client is married to one visual solution instead of being open to letting the designer explore ideas.” ! ! ! - @RobynCantTweet art director, Beutler Ink

73. I HATE IT WHEN… “… the client gives piecemeal feedback and copy updates round after round after round, when … we could have received the feedback in one complete round — our time is as valuable as theirs!” ! - @ChristianJDay creative director, Knight Studios

74. “… the client doesn't have a clear objective for telling the story in the first place. Why will your audience find this story of value? Who is the audience you are telling this story to?” ! - @TheTraceyCarl content strategist I HATE IT WHEN…

75. “…the client judges the world through a camera instead of their eyes.” ! ! - @theEABrown strategist I HATE IT WHEN…

78. “… decides the creative strategy before proper research and team brainstorming.” ! ! - @sarahEhill content strategist I HATE IT WHEN…

79. “… I am told I only have a width of 600px to work with.” ! ! ! - @tiffanyfarrant information designer I HATE IT WHEN…

80. I HATE IT WHEN… “… the client starts with the visual, before allowing the data to reveal the story it wants to tell.” - @ripetungi information designer

81. I HATE IT WHEN… “… the client is certain they want to say X very emphatically, but is pretty sure X is not actually true or that any evidence exists for it.” - @supnah content strategist, BitTorrent

Turning Ideas Into Action - Advance Your Career or Launch a Company

Originally presented for the Ogilvy and American Express professional women's network on July 16, 2015.

This presentation highlights some of the concepts, action items, and questions that you should keep in mind as you are advancing your career and / or building a company. I put it together from my own experience and what I admire in others.

7. take stock what have you accomplished? how effective are you? do people genuinely enjoy working with you? do you have advocates at the senior level? do you have the skills, network & social capital needed?

8. stock up do great work, drive great outcomes work smart be a genuine joy to work with seek advocates and be an advocate skill up and give more than you take